Zynga, Facebook aren't so buddy buddy anymore after deal revision

Breaking up is hard to do. Zynga and Facebook have drastically changed their partnership signed about two years ago that before gave Zynga privileges and benefits that other developers had no access to. According to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)--an 8-K, to be exact--the deal seems to have essentially been dissolved.

Basically, this means that not only is Facebook free to develop its own games (starting April 2013), but the network has no obligation to help maintain its position as the leading game maker on Facebook. On the other hand, Zynga has no obligation to use Facebook's ad units or its payment systems on its own game websites, namely Zynga.com.

This will allow Zynga to invest in its own platform even further--making 100 percent of the profits along the way. As for Facebook, we're extremely skeptical of whether it will begin development on its own games. (Though, we could have said the same about Amazon, and look where we are.)

What's more likely, and frankly more interesting, is this opens Facebook up to sign a similar deal with one of Zynga's competitors, like, say, King.com, EA or Kixeye. Then again, maybe Facebook simply wants everyone to play by the rules. Maybe.